Zacharie's Amusement Park
by The Real Rina
Summary: The Batter returns from the Nothingness, grateful for the second chance to fix his mistakes. About to set foot on a new mission, he is interrupted by an irritating merchant that pulls him away for a day at the park. Post-apocalyptic world. Light Batterie. Not to be taken entirely serious.
1. Prologue

The Nothingness.

A cold, unforgiving place. The whispers never stopped; only became dull or fervent at random intervals. There was no color, no furniture or landmarks of any sort, no boundaries, and no _life_. One could say that there was no noise either, if you didn't count the constant mutterings from beyond who-knows-where.

This was where the Batter had found himself in.

The place itself wasn't too bad, that is unless of course, one was to be forced to stay there for longer than ten minutes. It was the simple solidarity that drove one insane. There was not a single soul in sight, and the Batter thought it strange that he'd found no one after all the impurities he'd taken care of were to end up in the Nothingness. Nevertheless, the Batter still found himself wanting to speak with someone. To at least hear something other than the whispering. To have something to concentrate on, other than his holy mission.

He thought he'd be able to rest in peace, knowing he made the right choice. He had to pull the switch. It was absolutely necessary. At least… that was what he was told to do… right?

The Batter began to question his decisions, as there was nothing else to do in the Nothingness, other than to swing at imaginary foes (for he still retained his trusty bat), and for all he knew, he still had an eternity left as prisoner of the Nothingness. He tried to recall all of his encounters in his mission, but he found himself forgetting at first trivial details- i.e. how much a certain item cost- and then missing chunks out of conversations and sometimes whole events.

The Batter knew it would only be a matter of time until he became something akin to a brainless zombie and longed for what he came to call his salvation. If he were able to forget his gruesome past, then he wouldn't have to shoulder the weight of the guilt upon his shoulders anymore.

Sometimes he fought to hold on, wanting to believe he would get out one day. Other times, he would find himself curled up on the ephemeral black floor and patiently wait for his time to come. The Batter no longer had any idea how long he'd been in that place. He had tried to keep track of time at first, notching tally marks on his bat with a small pen he had found in his back pocket. It worked for awhile, until his random bouts of nightmare-filled sleep started to confuse him. They seemed they could last for a measly five minutes, or they sometimes felt like they lasted for _weeks_. By then, he had given up on marking his bat. He had begun to doodle on it instead, and that was a fun way to pass the time, until the ink ran out. The Batter had become frustrated and had thrown the pen down as he resumed his aimless wandering in the murky space. He would sometimes find himself back at the pen, and it had become a landmark of sorts.

The Batter had come across this slightly cracked pen for the 807th time now (for he kept track) when he heard a faint noise. At first he thought it was another whispered voice, rising above the others as it demanded to be heard. Maybe they would praise the Batter again. He usually felt a bit disgusted that someone would praise him for 'killing them'. The Batter had purified them, not killed them. There was an obvious difference between the two.

Lately though, he had begun to involuntarily perk up when this happened. It was nice to hear someone talk about him, to him. It was nice to be acknowledged for once.

"See? My suspicions of his renewed life are coming true! I have a special potion here that will speed up the process! I just have to-" A voice from far above the Batter was heard, but interrupted by a shuffling sound.

"That's catnip isn't it?"

A pause.

"I will not judge you in any way, _mon petit chat_, do not worry. But I do not think catnip will work on him, for he is not of your kind," a different voice patiently explained.

_This was strange_, the Batter thought, _those voices seem familiar…_

Before the Batter had any time to think on this matter, a loud purr boomed above, then deformed into a hiss after another rustling sound was heard.

"Do you really want him to come back to the image of you in this desperate state? Surely you want to keep your appearance intact, right?"

"Valerie is gone because of him! Do you think I care what he sees me as?!" An unruly growl was let out and silence followed after. The silence lasted for so long, the Batter had almost thought he had imagined the whole thing and was about to continue walking when he heard someone speak up. It was the one with the strange accent, that he couldn't quite name..

"You can have it back if you-"

"No, no. It's quite all right. Forgive me for losing my composure… Oh my, did I scratch you? Here, take this," A shuffling noise.

"I didn't know you carried around medical supplies. You certainly didn't get it from me, did you?"

"No, I carried them around for Valerie… as brother cats, we often played with each other and at times we got a bit… carried away, shall we say?"

_Valerie_. There was that name again. The Batter seemed to recognize it from somewhere… he _did_ remember a cat… with rather sharp-looking teeth…

He was beginning to feel… ah, what would be the word for it? Nostalgic? No, not quite. Perhaps remorse? Regret? That word seemed to fit… but why? He knew Valerie was a cat.. who had eaten a bird? But why was that detail important? He assumed all cats normally ate birds from time to time.. But this bird was different..

Japhet! That was right! The bird's name was Japhet! The one he had…

_Oh right…_ The Batter was finally able to remember some things. It was coming back to him, in small waves. The guardians and the innocent Elsen. The spectres.

He had never forgotten Hugo or Vader, but more details were becoming clearer. He remembered what he did to them, and why. The guilt he had harbored now vanished as he recalled his anger, his anguish. With a renewed sense of hurt, he fell limply to the ground and squeezed his eyes shut, refusing to let any moisture form.

He didn't know how long he stayed like that, but when he opened his eyes, he was surprised to see something other than the complete darkness. His eyes were assaulted by the gaudiest of yellows, which caused him to pull his cap down further and groan in annoyance.

After a bit of some rapid blinking, he started to observe his surroundings. He found that he was lying down, on what he assumed to be a bed. After tumbling out of it, he looked around in the small room and found that the whole interior was different shades of yellow. There were small windows outside and when he walked over to them, he found that it seemed to be a nice day. It was light outside, and the waves of plastic rolled gently over one another.

The world was exactly how he remembered it… but wait.. he thought he purified all the zones… didn't he? If he had forgotten one, then maybe that was why he was always uneasy in the Nothingness? The Batter was lost in thought so he didn't hear when a certain cat walked in until said cat mewed to get his attention.

"Why hello there, we were beginning to wonder if you would really come back. I proposed handing you off to the secretaries as a peace offering, but Zacharie reasoned that scum like you wouldn't hold them off for long," This comment hurt the Batter more than it should have, since he had forgotten to put his defenses up. He could always lower them while he tried to talk to the Nothingness. They never said anything negative about him. It was easy to build up his self-esteem when the whispering praised him for his 'good deeds'.

In an instant, he quickly remembered himself and corrected his stance into his usual stiff pose, but not before he could catch a small wince. This did not go unnoticed, and the Judge smirked at the sight. He quickly shook the expression off and gave a more sincere smile. Well, it was more of the usual toothy grin he wore during the game, but it was close, right?

"Ah, but no matter! You are here! I must attend to some… business first. Please wait here until Zacharie comes back," The Judge gracefully walked out, tail swishing from side to side. He most likely meant to close the door all the way, but it was left just a crack open.

The Batter was suddenly overwhelmed with questions as his memories came flooding back to him. Were the other zone still purified? Were there any Elsen left? He now remembered why this zone in particular wasn't purified, since there were no beings that inhabited this place. It was a safe haven of sorts. Still, he couldn't help but doubt if it really was _safe._

And above all else, why was he back? He wasn't complaining, mind you. He didn't much like the Nothingness anyways…

Though the whispers seemed nicer… The Batter found that he was actually missing them. Even if they were a bit.. irritating at times.. they would always be there. The only constant in his life. They stayed by his side when not even his wife did. No one else did that…

Except for maybe… a certain masked merchant.

All of a sudden, he had a strong urge to go see him. Check to make sure if he was okay. He didn't really owe him that much, he felt, but.. he had a strange feeling in his chest, like something was trying to claw its way out. It reminded him too much of his first days with Vader, when they were just teenagers.

The Batter didn't like it. It reminded him too much of all the good memories. Of how it had seemed like it would _last_.

It hurt.

So to distract himself, he looked around the room and hoped to find a book, or maybe some sort of equipment to play with, but no such luck. The quaint room only contained a messy bed, a desk of sorts with paper and pens strewn haphazardly across it, and a nightstand. After checking through the papers and opening the drawers on the stand, he grew restless as he was not able to find a single thing.

He sat back down on the bed, presumably to wait on Zacharie. He both hoped and dreaded his arrival, for he had more thinking to do. He just wasn't sure if he wanted to deal with it as of now…

Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind. _What if I'm on a sort of time limit here?_ Perhaps this was his one chance to make things right again..? Maybe the whispers had decided to intervene for once? It this was the case, the Batter was extremely grateful to them. For who else could have brought him back? The Nothingness is an abyss from where others usually cannot be pulled back.

Anyways, he was losing precious time! He waited mere seconds more before he huffed impatiently and walked over to gray door and stood in the path of the ray of light that spilled from the crack. He hesitantly raised his hand to the doorknob, not quite knowing what to expect. He gave a shaky exhale and pushed the door open.

He entered a larger room, with the familiar floating cubes in the middle. He recalled when he did that particular puzzle, back in the very beginning. He smiled softly at the sight, reveling in more innocent memories before catching himself and schooling his face back into his stoic expression.

The Batter didn't remember much of the layout of… well pretty much any Zone. What he _did_ remember was that Zone 0 was especially small, so he figured he wouldn't have much trouble finding his way around, right?

Turns out the Batter was wrong. He went in circles many times before he found the stairs to the small basement. He breathed out a sigh of relief as he knew he made some progress. Before entering, he caught a whiff of the familiar smell he associated with Burnts after they were purified. They sometimes left an oddly smoky scent.

_Strange.. there also seems to be a bit of a sweeter smell.. like sugar.._

Sugar… That's right! The Batter had met a strange enemy who had called him a 'scary ducky'. Honestly, he found her to be slightly annoying. Her care-free attitude pissed him, to put it frankly. He wondered how he was able to put up with Zacharie's behavior either… Ah, that's right, he was supposed to be searching for that merchant. How stupid of him to lose focus like that! He decided he needed to hurry up and took a step towards the door.

The Batter took another step but stopped abruptly when he heard a sob emanate from beyond the door. It was a bit muffled, but full of agony. Quiet, yet extremely intense. He hesitated, but he tentatively pulled the door open.

Inside was the mounds of sugar he remembered from last time, but he saw a figure crouched in the piles. The stench of decay was stronger in here. The figure didn't seem to notice the Batter, so he took another step forward, hoping to get a better glimpse at the unknown person. The figure stayed hunched over, back to him. It seemed female, perhaps a frail male. The Batter wasn't sure, but it seemed to be holding something in its arms. It was also shaking, badly enough that he could see the tremors from feet away. The Batter was not one who felt much pity, but he felt something twist in his gut when he heard the wrecked wails it was emitting.

The Batter decided to put an end to this. "H-hello?" He inwardly cursed himself for making such a pathetic voice, but it did its job to grab the attention of the figure.

It jumped at my words and scrambled around in the sugar to lift something to his face and turn around. The Batter stared back at a familiar mask. It was what he called 'the frog one'.

_Zacharie._

"B-Batter?!"

_AN: I know I should be working on my other works, but I just had to write this one down ouo This one will only be a few chapters, and I mean it this time! Urgh, this was supposed to be all cutesy and shiz but I just started typing and somehow it devolved into this depressing thing... Not sure if that's a good thing.._


	2. Interlude

"Zacharie? What are you doing here?" The Batter cocked his head to the side and lowered the bat he didn't realize he was holding up over his head. His gaze shifted over to what Zacharie was holding, but the angle was all wrong and he couldn't see much. He crossed the room in long strides, bypassing multiple piles of sugar; some granules stained a dark, murky color. Zacharie turned his attention back to what he held, not bothering to answer the Batter's question.

The merchants' shivering went down considerably. The Batter now loomed over Zacharie. He was able to see this mysterious thing Zacharie was keeping hidden from him.

It was that girl the Batter had defeated a long time ago.

Well, he assumed it was a long time ago. It felt like he was trapped in the Nothingness for ages, but looking at the body now –the one he was sure would've at least been decomposing by now- he wasn't too sure.

"Sugar…" The Batter was barely able to hear Zacharie's whisper as he tucked a few mottled, sticky strands of hair behind her ear. A manicured fingernail trailed gingerly over a large bruise on her cheek. It wasn't until then that the Batter noticed how beat-up she was.

Black sludge had poured out of her nostrils and down her jaw, which now scabbed over and stood out against the other unknown black trails. The Batter assumed it could be her make-up, but a quick look at her perpetual smiling lips had proven that they were _stained_ black, not painted on. The (multiple) trails fell onto her torn and scuffed jacket and had dripped on her chest as well. One of the 'x's had peeled off, baring a white nipple to the air. The straps on the waist of her pants were completely shredded, if they weren't already. A single rib had poked out through her skin, which must've not been that hard to do anyway since one could easily count the rest of her ribs through the taut skin.

All in all, she looked absolutely horrible. Beaten to such an extreme extent. And the Batter had done this? He vaguely remembered how tough she was; being annoyed that she wouldn't just stay down. The Batter usually didn't feel remorse, because he knew all his actions were justified. He had _had_ to purify her. It was absolutely necessary.

… Still, it didn't ease any of the tension coiling inside of him. Perhaps it had to so with the terse silence in the room.

Zacharie cleared his throat, wracking a wet-sounding cough in the process. He seemed to finally have remembered himself and tied the stings of his mask with nimble but shaking fingers. He stood up slowly and swayed to the right slightly, but caught himself in time and swiveled around to look at his intruder.

"Batter," His voice wavered once, but then he managed to make his trademark laugh and continued with a more steady tone. "I'm sorry you had to see that. Sugar was.. special to me."

The Batter shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He didn't quite know what to do with his hands, seeing as his bat had fallen on the floor (wait, when did that happen? He cursed himself for letting his defenses fall so easily). The masked man managed another laugh, but this one was more small and rueful.

"Do not worry, I don't blame you. There was a 50/50 chance she would die" -There he goes, saying the word the hero hated so much so casually- "by your hands. It was part of the script, after all. I was just.. hoping for the _other_ 50 percent."

The Batter let the whole script thing go, at least for now. He was curious, but never stopped to ask Zacharie about it since he had a more important task at hand. Now though, it was gone. There was nothing from stopping him… He was just a bit apprehensive.

"What was she to you?" The Batter surprised even himself by asking such a personal question. Frankly, he didn't care much when Zacharie had implied he'd known Sugar earlier in his mission, so why should he care now? Perhaps he just wanted something else to ask rather than the script thing.

Yes, that was it.

The Batter waited patiently for the other's reply. Minutes ticked by and the Batter was starting to think he wouldn't get any response, that maybe he pushed too hard when his ally was in a vulnerable state and damn, this is why he didn't inquire about other because he never quite knew what to say or how to correctly do things and-

"It doesn't matter anyways, does it?"

The uniformed man looked back up at Zacharie, noting how he was turned towards the lifeless body left behind in the mounds of filthy sugar. His tone held a fragile glee to it, almost being able to cover his anguish. Almost.

… Not exactly the response he was looking for, and the Batter wasn't sure if he would've preferred the silence or not. He tried to swallow the dry lump down in his throat as he reached out to place a cool hand on Zacharie's frail shoulder. The smaller one flinched and looked up curiously at the Batter. It seemed like he was holding his breath, but it was hard to tell with a mask in the way. The Batter tensed, unsure of his motives himself as he forced his way through speech.

"Zacharie, I.."

"Zacharie, my dearest! Where have you bee-…" The Judge pranced merrily into the room but stopped dead in his tracks. He glanced over to Sugar's body cast aside, to the Batter's hand clasped onto Zacharie's shoulder, back to Sugar, then glared daggers at the Batter. The cats' muscles tensed, and the Batter cursed himself again for dropping his weapon because he was able to tell a few moments before he would get pounced on. Unfortunately, the mostly-black-by-now bat was too far away.

The Judge flung himself at the man, seemingly able to see his eyes underneath the shade of the Batter's cap because he was aiming straight for them. He managed to tilt his head up so that his claws would only gouge his cheeks and nose. The Batter brought his hand up to grab at the hissing furball, but it got scratched so badly that the Batter was afraid he'd lost the ability to even hold his beloved bat anymore. He cursed, but improvised and slammed his cat-attached appendage into the wall beside him. The Judge yowled in pain and scrabbled against the yellow, curling paint for any purchase.

Before the Batter could pull his hand back to sling him across the room, Zacharie yelled in his ear. "Stop it! Don't hurt him, too!" All of a sudden, cold metal bit into the Batter's neck and he felt Zacharie's warmth flow through him as his back was flush with Zacharie's chest. He blushed unexpectedly, though it was barely a tint dusted over the apples of his cheeks. The trapped hero looked down slightly to see a bronze sword at his esophagus and thought it was stupid of him to be reacting like this. Especially when Zacharie seemed so panicky and tense and _hurt_.

He made a pained noise at the back of his throat and huffed in annoyance. Zacharie didn't have to sound so.. so betrayed. He rolled his eyes and let go of the already limp cat; let him slide down the wall and onto a cushion of sugar.

"You happy?" The Batter asked gruffly.

"Y-yeah," The merchant sighed out and backed away after a beat or two, withdrawing the sword. The Batter almost groaned at the loss, but bit his tongue at the last second. He turned his back on the Judge in favor of looking at Zacharie; knowing he wouldn't try anything right now. Zacharie held his sword loosely in his grasp and stared back, slightly trembling.

The Batter found himself wanting to comfort him; place a hand on his shoulder as if he could stop the shuddering, but that was what got him into the mess in the first place. Time stretched and the two shifted uncomfortably.

"Well.. this is awkward… Perhaps we started on the wrong foot here. I know! I shall take you to my amazing carnival! We could all use some happier times, _non_?" Zacharie laughed.

"You mean that place with the terrifying contraption?" The Batter felt his stomach weakly protest just at the thought of going back on the rollercoaster.

"That ride is somewhat… troubling," The Judge piped up behind them in a weary mewl.

"Yes, that on- Hey it's not that bad! C'mon, it's not that bad, Pablo!" Zacharie already seemed more animated and whined loudly. The Batter didn't like to think he was giving the annoying merchant what he wanted; he just simply wanted to shut him up. Oh maybe even get back at the Judge. Because he most certainly did _not_ care whether or not Zacharie was feeling bad.

That's why he replied with, "Well, it seems like it'll be a fun diversion."

Zacharie swiveled his head towards the Batter and his mask seemed to stare in disbelief.

"Why of course it will be! Don't worry, I'll make sure to hold your hat while you're puking your guts out! We're _amigos_ after all!"

"Pffft, I'm not scared of spectres, why would I be scared of some ride?" The Batter was feeling queasy already.

"I'll bet you 100 credits you won't last a day with me in the amusement park," The masked man crossed his arms at his chest and jutted his chin out. He was taunting the Batter; he knew this, yet he went along with it anyways.

"It's a deal."

"Prepare yourself, Batter!" The taller man thought he could hear a smile in his voice now and watched as he walked swiftly away. He thought he looked better with a skip in his step. The Batters' eyes crinkled at the sight but quickly coughed and stopped once he realized what he was doing.

He left the Judge behind, still unable to fully stop his smile.

_AN: Sooooo.. this was kinda just the interlude between the fun stuff. Don't worry, it'll get lighter in the next chapter!_


	3. A Day At The Park

"Honestly Zacharie, why is this even a thing?" The Batter poked at the plush spectre doubtfully with the end of his blackened bat.

"What, are you scared of the lil' ol' thing?" Zacharie stood on his tip-toes and strained to reach the prize on the shelf. The Batter made no move to help; he was actually rather amused despite the situation. The Judge leaped up onto the wooden board using his powerful feline hind legs and claimed one of the spectres in his jaws. He handed it over to Zacharie before announcing,

"I don't think those would be good for business; hate to say it my dear friend. Elsen are rather terrified of the entities, in case you haven't noticed yourself."

"That's exactly why they're 'a thing' as Batter so eloquently put it himself. It's to help them get over their fear by-" Zacharie began with an index finger pointed in the air, likely about to start rambling when the white cat interrupted.

"Yes, yes, I see your good intentions, but perhaps it wasn't the best idea, was it?" He gracefully waved a clawed paw at one of the Elsens staring concernedly at the little kiosk of stuffed spectres before he walked away briskly- almost breaking out into a run.

Zacharie only huffed and held the toy close to his heart-emblazoned chest. "I thought they were actually pretty cute."

The Batter chuckled lowly in amusement and Zacharie looked up curiously (he almost never witnessed much emotion- he really should laugh more often- and it was such a lovely sound). The Batter coughed and shifted awkwardly on his feet after realizing he let out what he deemed an unsightly response- because the righteous hero was _not_ letting Zacharie's stupid antics get to him- he was _not_.

The Judge only cocked his head to the side in question before leaping down and merrily walking off. "Come now, we have yet to experience the true joy of this fine establishment!" He didn't bother slowing down for the two, knowing they'd catch up. Zacharie grinned sheepishly at the Batter, but the effect was lost on him seeing as the now-changed cat mask hid any emotions. The smaller of the two ran off to catch up to the Judge while the Batter slowly trudged on; trying to look indifferent and hide the slight excitement he felt bubble up in his gut and threaten to pull a smile on his normally-expressionless face.

After having defeated a school of river monsters while trying to enjoy a somewhat peaceful pedalo ride, the odd little bunch settled down at a plastic fountain to enjoy a sweet confection Zacharie called 'cotton candy'. The Judge sat in the merchant's lap and purred contently while the Batter licked at the remains of sugar on his fingers (sticky, sticky, he hated the impure feeling). He was not normally one for the addicting, drug-like powder the Elsen loved so much, but he'd make an exception. Just for today.

… Because it might be his _only_ day here.. and he was spending it _here_ out of all places, with _Zacharie_ out of all people (not that there were many to choose from anyways). Instead of trying to figure out what his new quest should be. Suddenly becoming restless, he absently slipped his fingers in the flowing waves of plastic behind him; biting his lip and trying to come up with a way to tell Zacharie he should get going.

Noticing the slight change in the atmosphere, Zacharie lightly set the cat in the ground and grabbed the Batter's hand to lead him towards a rollercoaster. The man in turmoil allowed the contact- not really paying attention until he saw the tall hills and curving loops- to which he promptly dug his heels in. Zacharie almost dislocated his shoulder by the sudden step, but it left him unfazed. Instead, he released his grip and casually turned around. He stuck his hands in his jean pockets and exuded an air of cockiness.

"What's wrong, Batter? You look a little pale. You sure you don't want to fork over the credits and just be done with it now?" He taunted behind the grinning cat mask.

The Batter gave a side-long glance at the masked man before looking back at the towering rails. "You know I'm broke, Zach," He _didn't_ whine.

"Weeeellllll…" He rolled and stretched the word, "you don't _have_ to pay me today.."

The Batter whipped around to openly stare at Zacharie. Was he really letting him go that easily? Was the impure man finally showing some kindness? "Really?" He asked in a hopeful tone.

"Why of course! You'd only have to pay some interest for every day you don't pay, but-"

"I should've known," The hero talked over Zacharie and shook his head slightly. He sighed heavily as his hopes went up in smoke. This was Zacharie they were talking about here, what did he expect? The man only offered his usual chuckle and walked a few steps forwards. He called over his shoulder,

"You comin' or what?" Zacharie marched on without stopping because he soon heard the expected heavy footsteps falling behind him.

* * *

"Look on the bright side; at least you made some easy credits!" Zacharie patted the man's back who was hunched over a toilet. The Batter lifted his head slowly lest he get dizzier and tried to glare at Zacharie. Even behind the mask he seemed a bit too happy. He stood holding the Batter's black cap so it wouldn't accidentally fall into the bowl. The half-hearted attempt at a glare did nothing for Zacharie so the now-sick man responded weakly,

"Perhaps it was easy for you, but not for me," He wiped at his lips with paper towels. He threw the filthy thing at the trash bin nearby without looking, and Zacharie was slightly impressed that he managed the shot with precise accuracy while being distracted. The Batter spit into the bowl once more for good measure, then flushed it. He whipped around quickly wanting to escape the suffocating stall already and met a startled Zacharie head on.

The Batter simply stood before him, neck slightly bent so that he could look at where he assumed the smaller mans' eyes would be. After a few moments of terse silence, the Batter finally spoke up.

"What?"

"… Your breath stinks," Zacharie's tone implied that he wore a grin under the mask while saying this, and it infuriated the Batter. He shoved his way past him and strode towards the sink, considering swishing some around in his mouth to get rid of this 'smell', but shoved the idea away. Why should he care what some merchant thought; he didn't want to put filthy water in his mouth for the sake of another anyways.

"Gee, I wonder whose fault that is," He heard a chuckle emanate from behind him- way closer than he remembered- and looked up at mirror to see that Zacharie had gotten a bit too close for his liking. Well, he only saw the familiar black curls and cat ears pop up from behind his shoulder since the hero took up most of the space in the small mirror.

"What's this? The dignified king of OFF has such a sharp tongue? Maybe I've been hanging around you for too often," Zacharie moved to the side so the Batter could properly see him. He waggled a finger mockingly, "If you keep it up, one might even think we're friends!"

… The Batter didn't know what to say to that. He didn't understand most of what Zacharie was saying most of the time, but did he just deny the two being more than just merchant and customer? The Batter would've thought this entire day would've proved otherwise, but perhaps he was wrong.. Anyway, it didn't matter, he planned to search the library after this. Pushing off the sink's edge with two hands, he turned and snatched his black cap back from Zacharie and headed towards the exit.

The uniform-clad man was able to hear a faint voice as he strode away.

"Pity, I rather liked the hair.."

* * *

After a strange conversation with the Judge about a substance called catnip, Zacharie finally returned from the washroom. What he was doing in there that took up so much time the Batter didn't know, nor care to find out, but he clamped down on the weird sensation in his chest when he heard Zacharie's laughter once more.

"Pablo, don't bore him with your odd talk!" He chuckled as he picked the white fur ball up and gave a nice scratching behind the ears. The Judge's words were contradictory to his incessant purring.

"I wasn't boring him, you big brute! The Batter was actually quite invested in our conversation! He was the one who asked me what it was in the first place, isn't that right?" He turned his yellow gaze over to the Batter.

"Y-yes, that's right," He turned slightly and coughed into his fist, wondering why he felt so awkward all of a sudden. Zacharie only laughed again and the Batter found himself wanting to take a picture of the scene so he could always have it with him- but wait, what was that?

"… on the other ride!" The masked man began to pull the Batter along by the elbow, but the Batter shook his head and firmly planted his feet into the ground.

"Zacharie, you promised I wouldn't have to," And maybe because he knew Zacharie responded to more emotion than him, he emphasized, "you _promised_."

The Batter wished for the umpteenth time that Zacharie would stop wearing his mask so he could see his facial expression right now, but he couldn't, so he just shifted his weight from foot to foot impatiently. It was a nervous habit of his and he found himself doing it more around Zacharie than anyone else. About to spout off an angry, 'no!' and just leave already, the smaller man mumbled, "You are too cute for your own good," before reaching out to grab at his elbow again. "This ride isn't a rollercoaster; you'll like it, I _promise_ that,"

"Well, this is heart-warming and all, but I'm a bit tired. I think I'll just go have a nap, but I must say, this was exquisitely fun! Let's do this again, hm? Tell me how it goes!" The Judge spoke up from Zacharies' arms and directed a wink towards him. He leapt towards a nearby kiosk rooftop and lazily walked away until he was no longer in sight.

_Odd._ Upon closer inspection, the Batter noticed that the tips of Zacharies' ears were red.

… Was this man _blushing?_ Why? The Batter was a bit of a stranger to this, but he'd seen it on- (no, no, mustn't mention her name) Well. It wasn't that cold, was it? The Batter was partial to the weather, he was always cool to the touch, but still. Ah, well, Zacharie had his usual sweater on, so he'd be fine.

"Um. Anyway," The Batter inwardly cursed again, "What ride are you taking me on?"

"Oh heheh, it's not anything particularly scary like the rollercoaster," Zacharie jabbed a finger in the Batter's side.

"Quit it, you!" The Batter retaliated with a smack to the back of his head. "It's like you made those contraptions to purposely terrify everyone,"

Zacharie rubbed his noggin and muttered a curse. "Don't get your panties in a knot, the Ferris wheel is a lot calmer than the rollercoaster," He continued a moment later, "That really hurt y'know. You big meanie," He pulled his mask up a fraction to stick a tongue out at him, then quickly lowered it again and sped off.

Slightly stunned, the Batter walked with longer strides to catch up with him and called out an, "I'm sorry!"

Now Zacharie was the one who seemed shocked, but he quickly covered it up with a laugh.

Hmph. It's not as if the Batter didn't know how to be polite. He just never felt like anyone was worth it, really.

"Hey look, we're here!" The merchant pointed up at a menacing wheel jutting up towards the sky. The lights attached to it only made it seem more of a hazard in the Batter's mind.

"I was wondering what that was… I still don't know if I want to go in there," He looked over at some Elsen waiting in line, anxiously churning out their black fumes from their mouths.

"Nonsense, it's great! I mean, unless you're scared of height..?"

"No, of course not," The Batter swiftly denied Zacharie. He walked to the end of the line and looked at Zacharie expectantly. The latter only shook his head and joined the Batter, tugging on his arm.

"C'mon, let's just go in already,"

"Are you suggesting we cut all these Elsen? Wait, why am I even asking- of course you'd do such an impure thing," The Batter pulled Zacharie back to their original spot. Zacharie groaned.

"You didn't care about it when we rode the rollercoaster.."

"That's because there _was_ no line," He firmly stood his ground. Zacharie only muttered under his breath in response. He tried leading the Batter away again but the stronger man held on tightly to Zacharie's hand. Zacharie looked down at their intertwined hands before quickly looking away and mumbling,

"Fine. But at this rate, it'll be getting dark once we get to the top and well, that kinda ruins the whole point.." He fumbled with the hem of his sweatshirt with his free hand and seemed to be.. pouting..?

The Batter unconsciously smiled at the sight before schooling his expression back to normal lest he get questioned. "Weren't you the one who so adamantly pushed me towards the ride? You can- as I distinctly remember you once saying- suck it up," He felt a smirk tug the corners of lips anyways.

"Pfft, since when do you listen to what I say?" Zacharie countered.

"You'd be surprised," The Batter gruffly replied, simply leaving it at that and only glancing through the corner of his eyes towards Zacharie. The smaller man grew quiet. Wanting to (oddly) reassure Zacharie, the Batter spoke up, "We can always come back at a later time. Perhaps after I find my answers," He didn't mean to include that last bit in, and he cringed inwardly after the words left him. As expected, Zacharie questioned,

"Answers? What answers? Do you mean why you came back and no one else did?"

The Batter hesitated. "That's part of it, yes, but let's just leave it for now. This is supposed to be fun, isn't it?"

Zacharie looked as if he were to pursue the matter, but in the end he dropped it in the favor of some more banter.

"Ah, so you admit it! You did have fun! Oh, it fills me with joy to hear you say that, Batter!" He pulled what the Batter assumed to be a coy pose and laid a sleeve-covered hand to over his heart. The hero only rolled his eyes behind his cap and lightly snapped, "Lord, don't start,"

Zacharie laughed in response and the Batter felt his chest do that weird clenching thing again, but he pushed it aside for now. Maybe later he'd reflect on it, when he was sucked back into the Nothingness (because honestly, he was pretty sure he'd go back eventually). As of right now, he had a nice (?) ride to look forward to with a certain merchant.

He didn't notice until now that he still had his fingers laced together with Zacharie's, but he let the matter go and continued the contact.

_AN: Hey guys, I'm alive! Sorry for the long waiting time, I don't really have much of an excuse.. euo; But hey, I think I'm back into writing- at least for now- so if you'd like I can write up another chapter of this! I could just end it here, but I don't know. I feel like there wouldn't be much more to write about after this. Let me know what you guys think._


	4. The Ferris Wheel

The sun was already halfway down by the time he saw it (they hadn't even noticed it since they were so wrapped up in their conversation), so it was slightly hard to make things out. Still, the Batter doesn't think he can get the image out of his mind. It wasn't as if he hadn't already seen the destruction that trailed behind him- he'd witnessed it first-hand. It's just… he didn't pay much attention to the complete bleakness because he had more important things to worry about. In fact, he remembers he rather liked it that way. Nothing was out of place; there wasn't anything to disturb the tranquility that the purity of the Zone came with.

But looking back on it now, the Batter isn't so sure he's done the right thing. They're getting close to the top of the wheel, so he can see well above the buildings. There's a gradual shift from the lively violet of this attraction to the stark white that is home to the Secretaries. He thinks he can see the library in the distance, and a spark of hope ignites in his gut when he sees that it's still stained in color. It's more of a light lavender than anything, but it's not completely white yet.

For some reason, he feels relieved. It's strange- a bit counterintuitive- since his whole quest was about making things _pure_, so it should really bother him. And yet, it doesn't. He wonders idly if the Judge calls that place his home, but then he remembers there's Zone 0 and that he probably spends a large portion of his time with Zacharie. The Batter can imagine the Judge on the roof of the library, mourning the loss of his brother. He decides he doesn't like the feelings that the scene dredge up, so he shoves it in a corner of his mind; puts it under lock and key. He doesn't notice he's spacing out until he's startled by Zacharie's voice. He's speaking in a low tone, almost as if he doesn't want to scare the Batter.

"Hey, whatcha thinkin'?" Zacharie's face is turned towards him- well, his mask is. The Batter frowns momentarily before deciding he doesn't want to answer the question. Instead, he says,

"Now _Zach_\- may I call you that now?" He knows the merchant disapproves of the nickname. "Since we've gotten so comfortable with each other that you're starting to leave out entire syllables in your words," He crosses his ankles and turns to give a cheeky grin at the masked man. Zacharie seems caught off guard, because he hesitates and stammers.

"B-Batter. Honestly, you know you can always-"

"Yes, yes, I know," He waves him off with his hand. "I suppose there's no point to dancing around the subject. I just… Zacharie, what happened here? While I was gone, I mean. No, first of all, how long was I gone?" Zacharie opened his mouth to respond but was cut off yet again by a barrage of questions. "I didn't think much of it at the time, but how come there are Elsen here? I thought I'd..

And the library- what I assume is that building over there- why is it still.. ah, um.. have color? If it hasn't been completely purified yet, would there still be spectres there? And taking into account that it seems to be in a place where it's neither fully pure nor impure, would the spectres be weaker due to that effect, or would they be stronger like the Secretaries? And why is it that- mmf!"

The Batter looked down at the hand clamped over his lips as if it were something he'd never seen before. Confused and slightly irritated, he furrowed his brows and looked towards the offender.

"Batter please. I cannot answer you when you keep babbling like that. Now," The man being silenced glared at Zacharie and tried pulling away, but Zacharie only pushed forward, keeping the other's mouth tightly sealed. "Wait, wait. Don't give me that look, _Batteur_. The things you ask.. I cannot tell you. At least not here. Not under surveillance."

At the Batter's look of confusion, Zacharie explained further, "It's similar to the Player, but ah, ah- don't get your hopes up. My senses have gotten rather dull since the game ended, so it's hard to discern," Zacharie finally returned the Batter's speech when he leaned back and turned towards the landscape before them. He missed a flash of pale pink swipe across the Batters' lips; a curious expression upon his face. "Look, I'll tell you later. For now, can't we just enjoy the ride?"

The Batter didn't necessarily agree with putting things off, but he's done so a number of times before. He couldn't criticize. Instead, he just kept quiet while examining his hands.

"Ah, we're at the top."

The Batter glanced up at the sound of the smaller man's voice and felt his breath catch in his throat. He'd never been a very poetic person, but the sight before him was simply magnificent. Zacharie sat across from him with his elbows propped on his knees, face turned towards the dying sun. His white mask had a bit of a sheen to it, and the rays of golden light upon him made the browns in his hair stand out from the blacks; gave dramatic shadows to his figure and suggested a prominent jawline underneath all the tresses of hair and high turtleneck.

"It looks better when it's not that dark, but it's still _hermoso_, don't you think?"

The Batter gave a noncommittal grunt in response, too busy drinking in _other_ details. Zacharie only tsk-ed in annoyance. He turned his head and started, "Hey, you're not even paying attention, are y- What? Why are you staring at me?" Zacharie fidgeted with his mask to make sure it was still in place and patted his mess of curls down. "You're supposed to be looking out there," He pointed out towards the window. The Batter glanced to the side, seeming to be mildly interested in the view for a few seconds before he switched his gaze back over the merchant. "Batter, no. I brought you up here to enjoy the beauty of _this_," He wildly gestured to the window with both hands sleeves flapping noisily from the force.

"Zach," This time, he didn't use the term as an insult, but more like a term of endearment. "Why do you wear a mask? It certainly can't be _that_ bad, right?" He reached out with a pale hand, but Zacharie quickly squirmed away.

"Hey whoa, no. There you go, asking more questions I can't answer. Do you even listen at all?" Zacharie gripped the edge of his mask lightly as if to reassure himself that it wouldn't come off.

"I do listen. You said you couldn't answer them _here_," The taller man punctuated with a jab to the cushioned seat he was on. "Does that mean you'll answer them somewhere else?" His unconsciously leaned forward in earnest.

"**No**." Zacharie spoke sternly, and the Batter swears he didn't jump back slightly from his new tone. Zacharie certainly seemed to notice though, so he began again a little softer this time. "Well… At least not until I'm sure I can trust you," The Batter couldn't be positive, but he thought he heard hesitance laced throughout his words. He was about to respond with something akin to, 'why can't you trust me?', but he was cut off. "Don't take it the wrong way, either. It's just… not a pleasing subject of conversation."

"What can I do to get your trust?" The Batter questioned, choosing to ignore the last comment. Then, he added almost as an afterthought, "Can I buy it with credits?" Zacharie laughed and shook his head.

"It's not something you can just get. You have to earn it, and that takes a certain amount of time," He continued a little livelier and kicked lightly at the Batter's uniform sneakers, "Though adding some credits into the mix wouldn't hurt!"

The Batter kicked back, albeit slightly stronger. However, he answered sincerely, "Take all of my credits if it helps. I'll do whatever is necessary."

The other hesitated, but placed his hand over the Batter's kneecap. "Batter, you don't have to do this. You don't _want_ to do this," He reinforced this with a squeeze. "I've only ever shown one other person in my life, so just drop it. Okay?"

Now _this_ piqued the Batter's interest. He was a little disappointed that he couldn't have been the first one to discover the mystery of the small enigmatic merchant, but he shoved that feeling aside. "Who's that one person?"

Zacharie looked to the side. "Sugar," Was muttered lowly and the Batter had to strain his ears to hear it. The hero stared blankly at Zacharie- waiting for him to further explain who this person was- until images of a lifeless corpse with an eternal smile painted on her face flashed through his mind. _Oh_.

Well. The Batter didn't know what to say to that. He didn't want to apologize, because.. Well, frankly, she attacked him first. And she was impure. So it was fine. Right? So why did he feel like he had to ask for forgiveness? Conflicted, the Batter stared down at the slender hand on his knee. He looked back up to see the top view of Zacharies' curls. He seemed to be staring at his own hand, too.

Slowly- as to give the masked man enough time to pull back- the Batter moved his hand towards the other's. He hovered above him, feeling the warmth radiate off his smaller hands, and finally lowered it down fully. He instantly felt the warmth triple and seep through him, making its way up his arm and pool in his gut. Zacharie made a little pleased sound at the back of his throat- or at least the Batter liked to think he heard it right and that it wasn't just the mask covering his rebuttal.

"Zacharie," He breathed out.

Suddenly, the ride jerked to a stop and the merchant quickly exited their small seats. In his haste, his foot got stuck on a ledge and he fell face-forward with an 'oof!'. The Batter only chuckled and climbed out, a bit more carefully than the other. He walked over to him and offered his hand; a smirk on his face. "I can't imagine it being very comfortable down there."

"Y'know what? Maybe it is!" Zacharie took his hand firmly and pulled," Why don't you join me?" He laughed as he brought a wide-eyed Batter down to the ground. Despite his small stature, Zacharie was incredibly strong. The Batter huffed, now sprawled besides Zacharie. He rolled over onto his back and crushed him underneath his weight. The brunette gasped as all the air escaped his lungs and he clawed at the Batter's jersey.

"Get off me, you big oaf!" He managed albeit a bit breathlessly.

"You know what? You're right. It _is_ comfortable down here," The uniform-clad man mused, ignoring the one underneath him. He instead wriggled a little as if to get cozier and reached behind his head to tangle his fingers in Zacharie's hair. The latter plucked the former's hat in retaliation and batted at the Batter's hands. "Hey!" The Batter protested and sat up on Zacharie's stomach. He did a 180 and was about to attack with arms outstretched, but he stopped at the last second.

Zacharie had placed the black cap upon his head as if to serve as a barrier from the Batter's rough grip. He probably thought it was clever of him, but the Batter thought it was absolutely adorable. He smiled down at the man below him and stood up, pulling Zacharie up with him. The now hat-wearing man made a questioning 'huh?' but didn't push his luck as to start attacking again. As if to answer the question hanging in the air, the Batter huffed out,

"You look nice with it on. Suits you."

Zacharie paused, seemingly stunned and likely about to spout off some embarrassingly cliché things, so the Batter continued, "Perhaps not as good as it looks on _me_, but.. well.." He trailed off with an air of arrogance.

"Puh-lease, I could pull off a waaaaay better sexy baseball player than you ever could!"

"I'd like to see you try," He replied cooly, with only the pure intention of seeing Zacharie make a fool out of himself and _not_ because he was feeling possessive and would like to see the man in _his own clothes_ (seriously, he felt like his heart would stop just at the thought).

"I won't just try, I'll succeed! I'll wipe that smirk off your face!"

"Whatever it is, I'm betting on my lovely Zacharie to win," A sly voice suddenly purred in the Batter's ear. Zacharie doubled over laughing when he heard the shriek the Batter made. The Batter only glared at the cat now perched on his shoulder, who was joining in on the hysterical laughter. Once they quieted down a little, the Batter asked heatedly,

"Why'd you even come back? I wasn't expecting you,"

"Clearly not!" The Judge laughed, even as he picked the cat up by the scruff of his neck and flung him at Zacharie. The latter caught him deftly and continued to laugh, slowly dying down.

"Ooooh, that was a good one, Pablo!" Zacharie exclaimed, a hint of a chuckle underlining his words.

"Thank you, thank you very much," The cat mockingly bowed his head, ears flat against his skull.

The Batter growled in irritation. "You didn't even answer my question. Why are you here?" He seemed ready to lash out at the pair.

"Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your _alone time_," The Judge chuckled and winked once more at Zacharie, then directed his Cheshire-like grin towards the Batter. He then yelped when he got pinched by Zacharie's sneaky hands. "Ow! Desist! I was merely poking fun!"

The hero remained oblivious to the situation, so he talked loudly over them. "Since you can't seem to stay on topic, I'm going to assume you came to retrieve us?"

Zacharie stopped his punishment to watch the Judge nod. "Yes, the Secretaries become rather aggressive at night; more so than usual, I mean," He then stuck his tongue out at Zacharie (the Batter dimly wondered if that's where Zacharie got the habit from, or if it was vise versa) and muttered something in a language the Batter couldn't understand.

"Yes, well, we were about to go home anyways. Thank you for the concern though. Really 'ppreciate it, Pablo," He seemed to smile down at the cat in his arms. The judge purred contently and snuggled up to his heat-emblazoned chest.

"No problem, my dearest Zacharie!"

The Batter felt something warm and fuzzy take ahold of him, filling him with joy he hadn't felt in ages. It was like simply seeing the duo in front of him shined a ray of light upon him, illuminating his way throughout the darkness. This time, he didn't push the feeling away; no, he let it consume him, completely arm him up. It was strange to allow himself this, but he figured he deserved it after spending so much time alone in the Nothingness.

The odd little bunch walked on the path to the trains heading towards Zone 0, the last of the sunlight dwindling down to fade into dark purples and pinks. Once seated inside the tram, the Judge promptly fell asleep- most likely lulled under the ever-present rumbling of the train. The Batter took this chance to blindly reach over in the search of Zacharie's hand. He seemed to find it with no trouble, and he clasped it firmly with it laying on the smaller one's thigh.

Zacharie looked over at the Batter and cocked his head to the side, but the hero simply locked his gaze outside the window.

Was he..? No, it couldn't be. Zacharie shook his head slightly and smiled under his mask. Perhaps this would go over better than he thought.

_AN: I'm writing this while I'm hyped up on cough drops and coffee because guess what? I'm sick. Ugh. I hate getting sick. So yeah, if this chapter seems a bit weird, I'm blaming it on that u-u_

_So this is the end. It turned out really different than what I planned, but hey, I guess it wasn't so bad. I guess the characters just took over and wanted to be all cutesy and shiz… sorry about that guys.._


End file.
